Pratibha Parmar and Shaheen Haq of Kali8 Productions and Kin Folkz of SPECTRUM QUEER MEDIA were the unstoppable team and sole organizers of this sold event and screening at the aptly named Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.

The film’s Executive Producers, Regina K Scully and Geralyn Dreyfous brought the gift of Geena Davis, Executive Director of the ‘Geena Davis Institute on Gender Studies’ who introduced the film to the audience as well as discussing the importance of positive representation of women and girls on the screen. Geena went on to introduce Alice Walker and Pratibha Parmar to the audience.

By invitation of Pratibha Parmar, award-winning filmmaker Ava Du Vernay, of the forthcoming film SELMA, took time out from her busy schedule to chair the after film discussion with Alice Walker and Director Pratibha Parmar.

Thank you, Pratibha, Shaheen and Kin Folkz, the magic TEAM of THREE, with an army of dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly, putting the event together in under 3 weeks and were rewarded by the long lines of folks outside the Grand Lake Theatre where the sold out screening became etched into Oakland’s herstory.

U.S BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION
Kali8 Productions’ established relationship with Susan Lacy, the then Executive Producer of the PBS AMERICAN MASTERS series, assured the nationwide airing of BEAUTY IN TRUTH on this prestigious and prime time slot. The airdate of 7th February 2014 coincided with a celebration of Alice Walker’s 70th Birthday on February 9th, as well as kicking off the BLACK HISTORY MONTH series on PBS.

U.S THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION
Currently there are no plans for the Theatrical distribution of our film in the U.S.
Kali8 Productions and Kali Films are NOT in distribution with any company in the U.S.

GLOBAL SCREENINGS AND SPECIAL EVENT SCREENINGS
Stay tuned for exciting news about our Special Celebratory screenings across the US and Globally in 2015.

U.S Festival Runs
Shaheen Haq of Kali Films has coordinated over 150 film festival screenings of BEAUTY IN TRUTH both domestically and globally and continues to do so.

EDUCATIONAL DVD
We are excited and pleased to announce the launch our Special Edition Educational DVD.

Suitable for universities, libraries, and other educational institutions, the ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH Educational DVD contains the following:

• Full Version of Film
• Video Q&A with Director
• Audio of Alice Walker Reading a poem
• Viewing & Discussion Guide

Academic Guide for Higher Education, which includes:
• Two lesson plans, “Literature as Activism” and “Womanism”
• Bibliographic timeline
• The Work & Life of Alice Walker PowerPoint

]]>http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/11/19/distribution-news-update/feed/0Alice Walker reflects on a life of writinghttp://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/07/alice-walker-reflects-on-a-life-of-writing/
http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/07/alice-walker-reflects-on-a-life-of-writing/#respondFri, 07 Feb 2014 22:00:11 +0000http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/?p=1332Alice Walker has been defined as one of the key international writers of the 20th century. She made history as the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the National Book Award in 1983 for her novel “The Color Purple.”

The award-winning novel served as the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film and was adapted for the stage, opening at New York City’s Broadway Theatre in 2005, and capturing a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 2006.

The film, which includes contributions from Danny Glover and Steven Spielberg, among others, was in the making for some 5 years, with a rough cut completed after the filmmaker was able to raise a whopping $55,000 via IndieGoGo in 2011.

]]>http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/07/alice-walker-reads-from-the-color-purple-in-new-clip-from-beauty-in-truth-on-pbs-27/feed/0Review: PBS’ ‘Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth’ honors a singular lifehttp://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/07/review-pbs-alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-honors-a-singular-life/
http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/07/review-pbs-alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-honors-a-singular-life/#respondFri, 07 Feb 2014 06:00:15 +0000http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/?p=1339As the title of this episode of “American Masters” suggests, “Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth” is a lovely and lyrical tribute to the great American writer and activist who turns 70 on Sunday, two days after the film airs on PBS.

February is, of course, Black History Month, which makes the non-birthday aspect of the timing dispiriting. Surely it shouldn’t require an African American-themed event to warrant a tribute to Walker. And yet it is also reaffirming as well since it looks like Black History Month remains a very good idea.

]]>http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/07/review-pbs-alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-honors-a-singular-life/feed/0You Are Invited to an Online Preview of Our Filmhttp://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/06/you-are-invited-to-an-online-preview-of-our-film/
http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/06/you-are-invited-to-an-online-preview-of-our-film/#commentsThu, 06 Feb 2014 17:18:40 +0000http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/?p=1308Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth is the first film biography of writer and activist Alice Walker. Join Pratibha Parmar, the film’s writer, director and producer, for a 20-minute online sneak preview of the film on Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 5:30 pm ET. Ask questions, comment and share the experience with other Alice Walker fans. Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth premieres Friday, February 7, 2014 at 9 pm on PBS (check local listings).

The public television service announced Tuesday that the program about Walker will air Feb. 7 as part of the “American Masters” series.

Other PBS shows marking Black History Month in February include “American Promise,” a coming-of-age documentary about two young men, and a documentary about a Mississippi state commission that investigated foes of segregation.

“American Promise” airs Feb. 3 on the “POV” showcase. “Spies of Mississippi” will air Feb. 10 on the “Independent Lens” program.

To mark Black History Month online, PBS.org will offer “Behind the Lens,” about photographer Eunique Jones Gibson’s portrayals of prominent African-Americans as youngsters

]]>http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/06/pbs-american-masters-to-profile-alice-walker/feed/0A rigorous look at writer Alice Walker’s lifehttp://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/04/a-rigorous-look-at-writer-alice-walkers-life/
http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/04/a-rigorous-look-at-writer-alice-walkers-life/#respondTue, 04 Feb 2014 22:10:51 +0000http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/?p=1336In the opening scene of the first film biography of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, the activist says people have always had a problem with her.

“They had a problem with my disinterest in submission. My intellect. My choice of lovers. My choice of everything. Choose one. Choose all. They just had a problem.”

]]>http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2014/02/04/a-rigorous-look-at-writer-alice-walkers-life/feed/0Pratibha Parmar Talks ‘Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth’, Capturing the Essence of the Authorhttp://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2013/11/08/pratibha-parmar-talks-alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-capturing-the-essence-of-the-author/
http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2013/11/08/pratibha-parmar-talks-alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-capturing-the-essence-of-the-author/#respondFri, 08 Nov 2013 18:28:24 +0000http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/?p=1317For many of us, our knowledge of Alice Walker begins and ends with her tenth, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple, and Steven Spielberg’s subsequent film adaptation.Documentarian and longtime friend of Walker, Pratibha Parmar, tells the story of Walker’s remarkably rich and incomparable life, in Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth. It’s a layered, visually stunning profile of one of the most significant figures in American literature (though she doesn’t get the credit for it, an injustice that sparked the idea for the film.) Walker, now nearly 70, has broken boundaries her whole life, shattering black and female stereotypes, freely dating both men and women, rushing to the front line of protests, and countless other feats of strength and audacity.

]]>http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2013/11/08/pratibha-parmar-talks-alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-capturing-the-essence-of-the-author/feed/0Pratibha Parmar talks Alice Walker and “Beauty in Truth”http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2013/06/21/pratibha-parmar-talks-alice-walker-and-beauty-in-truth/
http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/2013/06/21/pratibha-parmar-talks-alice-walker-and-beauty-in-truth/#respondFri, 21 Jun 2013 21:36:36 +0000http://www.alicewalkerfilm.com/?p=1321The Color Purple, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about black communities and interpersonal relations between men and women of color in the South, catapulted Alice Walker to fame as a writer. But beyond this work (actually her tenth novel) many of us do not know the complexity and richness of her life, not only as a writer but as a global activist.

True to her artistic career, filmmaker Pratibha Parmar is continuing her efforts to make history through her latest film, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 31. In this inspiring and informative documentary, Parmar tells the story of Alice Walker, from poverty-stricken child of the unbearably racist South to acclaimed writer and activist. Through a blend of archival footage that recreates the political and social contexts of Walker’s life from the mid 1940s onward with interviews from a range of Walker’s friends—including Howard Zinn, Gloria Steinem, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Quincy Jones and Steven Spielberg—Parmar presents audiences with a detailed landscape of the “beauty” and “truth” of Walker’s life.

It hasn’t quite sunk in as yet. Two weeks ago we had the world premier of Beauty In Truth in London. The event turned into so much more than a screening. The hunger to see Alice and our film was evident in two sold out screenings. 1,800 people roared, clapped and laughed as they watched the film and later heard Alice speak during the Q&A.

We have been overwhelmed with incredible heartfelt responses from audience members who attended the event. We are posting many of these comments on twitter as well as our Facebook page, Alice Walker Film As a result of the wide scale publicity we received, I was asked to write a blog for the U.K’s leading television newspaper, Broadcast. Here it is.

Alice Comes To London Town

This was no ordinary film premier. How could it be when the icon that is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Color Purple Alice Walker, comes to town for the world premier of a feature documentary on her life and art.

Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth had its world premier at Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 10th as part of a 3 day Women of the World (WOW) festival at the Southbank. The vision of Jude Kelly OBE, the festival brings together women from all over the world for a vibrant gathering, celebrating International Women’s Day.

Producer Shaheen Haq and I couldn’t think of a better way to unveil our film. We wanted our first audience to be diverse and reflective of Alice Walker’s universal appeal. We couldn’t have imagined in our wildest dreams what would unfold as soon as soon as the announcement was made.

Within three days, and with no advance publicity the screening sold out– just word of mouth and our own social media networks. Distressed people rang the Southbank for tickets, our company Kali Films was inundated with pleas and requests for comps. We suggested to WOW, why not do a second screening. They went for it and that screening too sold out. Talk about a hot ticket. The hunger to see Alice Walker was palpable and we understood perfectly why this would be so.

Writing From the Earth

Alice Walker’s extraordinary story is one of triumph against all odds. Born in a paper-thin shack on a plantation in Georgia in the Deep South, she was the eighth child of a sharecropper family. As her older brother recalls in the film, “baby Alice used a twig to write in the dirt” while her mother picked cotton.

Alice Walker talks about being forced to sit at the back of a bus as she left home for college. She vowed then and there that she would do everything within her power to change the system of racist apartheid.

Her adult life unfolds during some of the most turbulent years of cultural and political shifts in North America. Hearing Martin Luther King speak while a student, Alice Walker’s intimate involvement in the civil rights movement was inevitable. Always breaking taboos, Walker fell in love and married a white civil rights lawyer. They lived in Mississippi where interracial marriage was illegal. “I did it because it was illegal. How dare they tell me I can’t marry someone I want to marry.”

Beauty In Truth is first time Alice Walker has given unprecedented access to herself as well as her personal archive of photographs and journals, making it possible to create an unparalleled portrait of her indelible mark on contemporary culture.

Pratibha Parmar & Alice Walker- March 10, 2013

Filmmaker’s Heaven

I could not have been more delighted with the audience response to the film at the film’s world premier. 1,800 people roared, clapped and screamed as Walker and I stepped out and onto the stage. As someone said, “It was like being at a rock concert”. After the agony of raising funding from 16 different funders over the last 4 years and crowd sourcing to raise the final $55k, I am allowing myself to glide into a filmmaker’s heaven.